The capex, group CFO Sridharan Rangarajan said would be allocated towards a gas-based power plant in silicon carbide maker Volzhsky Abrasive Works, a Carborundum Universal subsidiary.

The funds would also go towards increasing the group company Coromandel’s phosphoric acid production efforts, with a new plant in its Vizag unit of 450 tonnes per day capacity at an outlay of Rs 250 crore.

CHENNAI: The new chairman of the Rs 300 billion Murugappa Group, MM Murugappan who took over the reins from A Vellayan in February, said the conglomerate would invest Rs 2000 crore in capital expenditure over the next two fiscals.

The capex, group CFO Sridharan Rangarajan said would be allocated towards a gas-based power plant in silicon carbide maker Volzhsky Abrasive Works (VAW), a Carborundum Universal (Cumi) subsidiary. The capacity of the gas fired power plant in Russia however has not been finalised, he said.

The funds would also go towards increasing the group company Coromandel’s phosphoric acid production efforts, with a new plant in its Vizag unit of 450 tonnes per day capacity at an outlay of Rs 250 crore. The group will also allocate some of the funds for capacity addition in its engineering divisions and to debottleneck some of its plants, said chairman Murugappan, at the conglomerate’s annual media conference.

Exports contributed to 10% of the group’s turnover, he said. In the last fiscal, 2017-18 the Murugappa group companies posted a turnover of Rs 32,893 crore against Rs 29, 206 crores in 2016-17, logging a growth of 13%. EBITDA growth stood at 14%, at Rs 4,663 crores in 2017-18 against Rs 4,075 Crores in the financial year 2016-17.

On a question on investments in start-up funds and in new technology ventures Murugappan said the group foresaw disruptions in its financial services units. He said the group was working with start-ups in the financial technology and supply chain spaces, where the group senses disruptions in the current landscape of service delivery. The startups have been working with the group to improve overall efficiency and profitability, and to provide a better reach to customers he said. Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company and Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company are the group’s two financial services businesses.

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